19 April 2009

Dear Madam, dear Sir, On behalf of the International Trade Centre (ITC), the export development joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, I am pleased to invite you to the Chamonix III Symposium on the management of commercial dispute resolution services: “Offering effective dispute resolution services to SMEs”, to be held in Chamonix, France from 13 to 16 May 2009. The purpose of the Symposium is to address, from a practical standpoint, the different approaches to the management of dispute resolution services involving Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These enterprises play a central role in most economies, but they are confronted with dispute resolution services that are ill-adapted to their size. Along with this subject, current challenges, trends and best practices in the management of arbitration and mediation services will be identified and discussed at a truly world scale. A special feature of the Symposium will be the one-to-one 15 minutes networking meetings between participants (interinstitutional or other) with the aim of promoting inter-institutional cooperation. Approximately 250 such meetings will take place in Chamonix III. These have yielded in the past new partnerships and creative activities and we trust you will make the best out of them. Participants from 60 countries and 72 Arbitration and Mediation Centres and other institutions attended the previous Chamonix meeting (see the attached list of institutions that participated in Chamonix I & II). Chamonix III will enlarge participation but still will limit it to 150 registrants, who are involved in the management of commercial arbitration and/or mediation services. You may be invited at a further stage to make a short presentation and/or share your experiences. Buses to Chamonix will leave from ITC headquarters at 14:00 and 15:00 on 13 May. Public transport buses are also available from Geneva. A lump-sum fee of 850€ (Partner institution) or 1050€ (Other) has been arranged, covering all participants’ expenses: Single room accommodation in the Park Hotel Suisse or Prieuré Hotel (3 star hotels), breakfasts, meals as of 13 May evening to 16 May morning (except dinner of 14 May), registration fee and travel by bus from Geneva (Switzerland) to Chamonix (France) and return. For those who need a visa, a single (Schengen) visa will be valid for both Geneva (Switzerland) and Chamonix (France). I would be grateful if you could confirm your attendance as soon as possible by filling up and returning the enclosed registration form. For any further information, please contact: Ms. Silena Martino, Conference Manager: Tel: +41 22 730 0640; Fax: +41 22 730 0576; E-mail: [email protected] Ms. Barnéoud-Rousset Agnès, Secretary: Tel: +41 22 730 0243; Fax: +41 22 730 0576; E-mail: [email protected] Ms. Gadomska Agnieszka, Secretary: Tel: +41 22 730 0392; Fax: +41 22 730 0576; E-mail: [email protected] I do hope that it will be possible for you to attend and share your experiences. Yours sincerely,

Jean-François Bourque Senior Legal Adviser Attachments: List of Chamonix I & II participants; Preliminary programme; Registration form; Background information.

List of Arbitration-Mediation and other Institutions that participated in the Chamonix I & II Symposiums on Strengthening Commercial Dispute Resolution Centres Liste des institutions d’arbitrage, de médiation ou autres, ayant participé aux Symposiums de Chamonix I & II sur “le Renforcement des centres de règlement des litiges commerciaux” - Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce & Sectorial Association (AACCSA) Arbitration Institute, Ethiopia -ADR Centre S.P.A, Italy -Alternative Dispute Resolution Office, Thailand -Ambassade de France à Madagascar -Arbitration Centre of the Oslo Chamber of Commerce, Norway -Arbitration Council, Cambodia - Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic -Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) -Arbitration Court of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce - Arbitration Court of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry -Arbitration & ADR in Africa, Nigeria - Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) -Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Suede -Association Euro-Arabe de l’Arbitrage, Lebanon -Association pour la promotion de l’arbitrage en Afrique, Cameroun -Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC), China -Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, Egypt -Câmara de Arbitragem Empresarial CAMARB, Brazil -Cámara de Comercio de Costa Rica - Cámara de Exportadores de Santa Cruz, Bolivia -Centre belge d'arbitrage et de médiation (CEPANI) -Centre burundais d’arbitrage et de conciliation (CEBAC) -Centre d’arbitrage, de médiation et de conciliation (CAMEC), Bénin -Centre d’arbitrage du Congo (CAC) -Centre d’arbitrage de Djibouti - Centre d'arbitrage de la chambre algérienne de commerce et d’industrie -Centre d’arbitrage, de médiation et de conciliation de Ouagadougou (CAMC-O) de la chambre de commerce, d’industrie et d’artisanat, Burkina Faso -Centre d'Arbitrage et de Médiation de Madagascar (CAMM) -Centre d’arbitrage GICAM, Cameroun - Centre d'Arbitrage et de Médiation de la Chambre de Commerce de Dakar, Sénégal

-Centre d’arbitrage de médiation et de conciliation, Sénégal -Centre de conciliation et d’arbitrage du Mali (CECAM-CCIM) - Centre de conciliation et d'arbitrage de Tunis -Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), United Kingdom -Centre international de médiation et d’arbitrage de Rabat, Morocco -Centre de médiation et d’arbitrage de la chambre algérienne de commerce et d’industrie -Centre de médiation et d’arbitrage de la chambre d’Annaba, Algérie -Centre de médiation et d’arbitrage de Paris (CMAP), France - Centro de Arbitraje de México (CAM) -Centro de Arbitraje y Conciliación - Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá, Colombia - Centro de Conciliación y Arbitraje de la Cámara de Comercio de Costa Rica, Dominican Republic. -Centro de Mediación y Arbitraje Comercial de la Cámara Argentina de Comercio -Centro de Mediación y Arbitraje de la Cámara de Comercio e Industria de El Salvador -Centre international de médiation et d’arbitrage de Mauritanie (CIMAM) -Chambre arbitrale de Paris, France -Chambre de commerce d’industrie et d’agriculture de Mauritanie (CCIAM) -Chambre de commerce et d’industrie d’Haïti -Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris (CCIP), France - Chambre de commerce et d’industrie, Tchad -Chambre de commerce et d’industrie, Togo -Chambre de conciliation et d’arbitrage de l’association interprofessionnelle du coton (AIC), Bénin -Centre de conciliation et d’arbitrage de Tunis (CCAT), Tunisie -Chambre neuchâteloise du commerce et de l’industrie, Suisse -Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Russia, Russian Mediation Centre -Chamber of National and International Arbitration of Milan, Italy -Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom - China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) -Comité d’arbitrage de la chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Genève (CCIG), Suisse

-Commercial Arbitration Centre, Zimbabwe -Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), South Africa - Conférence permanente des Chambres consulaires africaines et françaises, France - Consejo de Conciliación y Arbitraje de la Cámara de Comercio y Producción de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. -Copyright Office Arbitration Centre, Ghana -Cour commune de Justice et d’Arbitrage de l’Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique du droit des affaires (OHADA), Côte d’Ivoire -Cour d’arbitrage de Côte d’Ivoire (CACI) -Cour internationale d’arbitrage de la CCI, France -Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce - Court of Arbitration attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry -Court of Arbitration / Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia -Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Bangladesh - Dubai International Arbitration Centre -Emirates International Law Centre -Foreign Trade Court of Arbitration at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce -Forum for International Commercial Arbitration, United Kingdom - Garment Manufacturer's Association in Cambodia (GMAC) -German Institution of Arbitration (DIS) -High Court of Lagos, Nigeria -Indian Council of Arbitration -International Arbitration Court of the Juridical Centre “IUS”, Kazakhstan - International Centre for Dispute Resolution Dublin, Ireland -International Centre for Dispute Resolution – American Arbitration Association (AAA), United States of America

-International Finance Corporation (IFC), Cambodia -International Labour Organisation (ILO) -Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Turkey -Latvian Chamber of Commerce & Industry -Lebanese Arbitration Centre of the Beirut Chamber of Commerce & Industry-Libyan Mediation and Arbitration Centre - London Court of International Arbitration -Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry -Ministry of Commerce, Afghanistan -Mexico City National Chamber of Commerce, Mexico -Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia -Ministère de la Justice, Gabon -Mongolian National Arbitration Court of the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry -Netherlands Mediation Institute-Office of the Federal Attorney-General of the Federation, Nigeria. -Permanent Arbitration Court, Croatian Chamber of Economy -Regional Centre for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur (RCAKL), Malaysia -Syrian Legal Bureau - Tahkeem Centre for Settlement of Commercial Disputes, Palestine -Tribunal Arbitral de Comercio de Bilbao, Spain -Arbitral Tribunal for Sport / Tribunal arbitral du sport, Suisse -Université de N’Djamena, Tchad -University of Buenos Aires, Faculty of Law -United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Austria -Venice Chamber of Arbitration, Italy-Vilnius Court of Commercial Arbitration, Lithuania - Vilnius Court of Commercial Arbitration, Lituania

**************************************

Chamonix III – ITC Symposium on the management of commercial dispute resolution services

Offering effective dispute resolution services to SMEs 13 – 15 May 2009 Centre des Congrès le Majestic Chamonix, France

Preliminary Programme Wednesday 13 May 2009 14:00 & 15:00

Departure from Geneva (for those taking the Symposium bus)

15:30 – 18:00

Registration

19:30 – 21:30

Reception Buffet

Thursday 14 May 2009 Welcome Addresses 09:00 – 09:15

Ms Patricia Francis, Executive Director, International Trade Centre Mr. Emmanuel Jolivet, General Counsel, ICC International Court of Arbitration Mr. Graham Massie, Director Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) Mr. Frédéric Brunet, Vice-President, Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Opening plenary debate Adapting commercial arbitration and mediation services to the needs of SMEs

09:15 – 10:30

Small and Medium exporting enterprises – including micro or very small companies, those with fewer than 20 employees – have significantly increased their presence world-wide as exporters of merchandise and services. However, SMEs are confronted with dispute resolution services that are often ill-adapted to their needs. Have arbitration and mediation services really taken stock of the issue? Can they effectively offer satisfactory services for smaller claims adapted to the needs of SMEs? Does mediation have an edge?

10:30 – 10:45

Coffee break

10:45 – 12:15

Breakout series 1 Making arbitration cost-and-time-effective for SMEs

Room A

The best techniques to control and limit time & costs. Are they satisfactory and effective? Does on-line commercial arbitration work? Has arbitration already reached its maximal efficiency & creative power? Is there any workable coordination mechanism between arbitration institutions, regionally or internationally to limit parties’ costs in cross-border disputes?

-2Room B

How can arbitration services reach out to SMEs? What are the best marketing strategies of arbitration institutions towards SMEs? How can commercial arbitration remain simple and less sophisticated so that SMEs with no legal expertise can be interested? Are small claims commercial arbitration services financially viable? Should these services be subsidized as part of business support provided by a professional organization (Chamber of commerce, or other). How can the arbitration offer respond to the proliferation of competing arbitration institutions and ad hoc solutions so that the ‘message’ remains simple?

Gender, still an issue in large and small arbitration cases Room C

The actual place of women in commercial arbitration. Why does commercial arbitration still have a gender issue? How does the low representation of women affect the evolution and progress of arbitration? The way forward

12:15 – 14:00

Lunch

14:00 – 16:00

One-to-one networking meetings (on average, six 15-minute meetings per participant/institution)

16:00 – 17:15

Breakout series 2 Commercial mediation: the quintessential solution to SME disputes?

Room A

Is commercial mediation merely another dispute resolution technique or does it signal fundamentally a worldwide gravitational shift in the way society as a whole addresses dispute resolution? What are the future prospects of commercial mediation services? What does this signify in practice for businesses and for dispute resolution service providers?

Commercial mediation: bringing the offer closer to SMEs Room B

What are commercial mediation’s best marketing strategies for reaching out to SMEs? What is the case that mediation service providers can take to SMEs for mediating SME disputes? If mediation is so attractive why isn’t it not gaining more ground with SMEs?

Large-scale mediation solutions at the regional and national levels Room C

Experiences on implementing large-scale mediation solutions have been run on several continents. These will be presented and critically examined.

17:15 – 17:45

Plenary reporting from Breakout Series 1 & 2 and from the one-to-one meetings

Friday, 15 May 2009 Opening plenary debate Organising feasible commercial mediation services 09:15 – 10:30

Commercial mediation services are now being created systematically in most countries whilst the profession of commercial mediator is developing as a private practice in many jurisdictions. Under what form should commercial mediation services be offered as a service to SMEs? What are the pros and cons of the following options: creating an institution exclusively devoted to mediation; making mediation a by-product of arbitration services within the same organisation; promoting private commercial mediator services.

10:30 – 10:45

Coffee break

10:45 – 12:15

Breakout series 3 State Courts as inducers of out-of-court mediation: conditions for success

Room A

The relationship between state-courts and mediation services is vital. What are the best set-ups for establishing a healthy link between state courts and mediation services? How close can mediation services be to the courts? Should mediation become an obligatory step prior to litigation?

-3Achieving a final and binding solution in mediation: legal options Room B

At the core of the success of any dispute resolution process is finality. Should national legal systems converge towards legal provisions recognizing the final and binding character of mediations, as an echo to the final and binding character of arbitral awards? Are global/regional institutions (UNCITRAL, EU, OHADA…) together with national legislators properly addressing this issue?

Commercial viability of mediation services Room C

Many institutions and professionals view mediation as an attractive activity. Can one make a living out of commercial mediation as a main source of revenue? How will mediation institutions and professional mediators who may collaborate and/or compete create a healthy relationship?

12:15 – 14:00

Lunch

14:00 – 15:30

Breakout series 4 Training of mediators

Room A

Commercial mediation qualifying courses offered by various institutions may last anything from a few days to several months. This may be an important source of revenue during the first years of a mediation service. Here, the content and structure and outcome of some of these courses will be presented and examined.

Certification of mediators Room B

Once a mediator is trained, who can certify that she/he qualifies as a mediator? What are the contents of a certification system? How does a certification system work? Examples of national/global systems.

15:30 – 15:45

Coffee break

15:45 – 17:00

Breakout series 5: Mediation techniques through the arts (theatre or other)

Room A (In English)

– What is mediation? (7 minutes per presentation) – Team mediation: how does it work? – Three main stumbling blocks in mediation and how to resolve them

Room B (In French)

– Qu’est-ce que la médiation commerciale ? (7 minutes par représentation) – L’équipe de médiateurs: une technique pratique – Trois principales difficultés rencontrées dans la médiation commerciale : comment les résoudre?

Plenary reporting from Breakout Series 3 & 4 17:00 – 17:45 Closing Address

19:00

Farewell dinner on the mountain steps

Chamonix III - Symposium on “Managing Small Claims for SMEs” Management of Commercial Dispute Resolution Services

13-16 May 2009, Park Hôtel Suisse & Hôtel Prieuré - Centre de Congrès “Le Majestic” Chamonix, France

Background Information The International Trade Centre (ITC), a technical cooperation agency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) for operational, enterpriseoriented aspects of trade development, is organizing the third International Symposium on “Managing Small Claims for SMEs, Management of Commercial Dispute Resolution Services”. The Symposium will continue to be focused on the management of both Commercial mediation and arbitration services at the national level and will give due attention to young centres in developing economies. The specific purpose of the “Chamonix III” Symposium is to address, from a practical standpoint, the different approaches to the management of small claims dispute resolution services for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the national level. Current challenges and successful trends in arbitration and mediation management will also be discussed. A special feature of the Symposium will be the one-to-one meetings between participants (inter-institutional or other) with the aim of promoting inter-institutional cooperation. There will be approximatively 250 meetings taking place in Chamonix III.

Participants: •

Managers of arbitration, mediation or technical expertise services and other professionals/institutions (lawyers, business associations, chambers of commerce) involved in administering or supporting these services.

•

Public or private institutions intending to create arbitration and mediation services.

•

Representatives of international institutions.

Since the purpose of the Symposium is to share experiences and expertise, priority will be given to those that can attend the full two days and arrive on 13 May.

Practical Information: (1) Venue: Chamonix (France), Park Hotel Suisse and Hotel Prieuré, Centre de Congrès “Le Majestic”, situated in the Alps, on the footsteps of the Mont Blanc. (2) Date: Wednesday, 13 May 2009: registration as of 15:00 and welcome cocktail. 14 – 15 May 2009: Symposium.

(3) Transport Geneva – Chamonix and return (approximately one hour and a half):

(a) Geneva – Chamonix • ITC Bus: (54, rue de Montbrillant): Wednesday, 13 May at 14:00 and 15:00. • Public transport (by bus): Geneva Airport - Gare Routière (City Centre) - Chamonix: 08:00 08:30 10:05 15:45 16:00 18:00 Tariffs for public transport: 52CHF one-way / 83CHF return (b) Chamonix – Geneva • ITC Bus: Park Hotel Suisse and Hotel Prieuré to Geneva airport and city centre, Saturday, 16 May at 7:00 and at 11:00 • Public Transport (by bus): Chamonix - Gare Routière (City Centre) - Geneva Airport: 07:00 08:55 09:10 16:30 18:05 18:20 Tariffs for public transport: 52CHF one-way / 81CHF return (4) Participation fee: (including accommodation): 850€ (Partner institution) lump-sum per person 1050€ (Other) lump-sum per person This package covers single room accommodation for the nights of 13, 14 and 15 May (3 star hotel), breakfasts, meals (except for dinner of 15 May), transport to and from Chamonix and registration fees. No other options are available. Since the purpose of the Symposium is to share experiences and expertise, priority will be given to those that can attend the full two days and arrive on 13 May. (5) Working languages: English and French with simultaneous translation. (6) Contact persons: Silène Martino Conference Manager Phone: +41 22 7300 640 Fax: +41 22 7300 576 [email protected]

Agnès Barnéoud-Rousset Secretary Phone: +41 22 7300 243 Fax: +41 22 7300 576 [email protected]

Agnieszka Gadomska Secretary Phone: +41 22 7300 392 Fax: +41 22 7300 576 [email protected]